The present invention concerns a portable object, such as, in particular, a timepiece, including means which allow data to be exchanged between the portable object and a personal computer or PC.
Timepieces such as wristwatches including a case inside which is housed, for example, a digital photographic device, are already known. The person wearing such a watch thus has a camera permanently available which allows him to take snapshots of a landscape, members of his family or a person he has met during a work meeting. Once the photographs are taken, they are digitised by an analogue/digital converter, then stored in a memory circuit.
The stored photographs then have to be transferred to a remote electronic receiver and processing unit, conventionally a personal computer. This transfer is effected via an electric cable one end of which is connected to the watch, and the other end of which is connected to the PC. An ohmic contact carried, for example, by the middle part of the watch, allows the image transfer cable to be connected to the latter.
This solution has the advantage of being economical from the point of view of electric power consumption. Indeed, the transmission of the digital data corresponding to the photographs stored in the memory via a cable link requires only a very low current. Moreover, during this transfer operation, the electric power supply of the watch can be assured by the computer itself which his generally connected to the electric mains supply.
However, a major drawback of transmission via a cable resides in the fact that the ohmic contact necessary for connecting the transfer cable is very detrimental to the watertightness of the watch. This contact in fact constitutes an opening through which humidity, water and dust can easily penetrate the case of the watch and compromise the proper operation of the latter.
A system for processing personal data is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,027 in the name of Biometrics, Inc. This system allows, for example, the performance of an athlete such as a runner to be monitored. It allows the data and time of the run to be stored, the time for each lap, or even the final time achieved by the sportsman. The system also allows the values of certain physiological parameters to be stored such as the heart rhythm or an electrocardiogram (ECG) which reflect the effort made by the athlete during his sporting activity. All this data will then be transmitted, via an acoustic link, to a personal computer in which the data will be processed, analyzed, then finally displayed on the screen of said computer.
The Biometrics system described above advantageously allows personal data to be stored in a watch, then this data to be transferred via acoustic waves to a computer where it will be processed and analyzed. This system is unfortunately not bi-directional. It is thus not possible to transfer data from the computer to the watch, which considerably limits the possible applications of the Biometrics system. Further, data transmission via acoustic waves is a technique which uses a lot of power and which requires relatively expensive components.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above problems and drawbacks in addition to others by proposing a particularly simple and inexpensive system allowing data to be exchanged between a portable object such as a timepiece and a personal computer or PC.
The present invention therefore concerns a portable object such as, in particular, a timepiece, including an electronic movement carried by a printed circuit, this electronic movement including a time base circuit, a frequency divider circuit powered by the time base, a control circuit connected to the divider circuit and a display system controlled by the control circuit, this portable object also including at least one push-button including a head and a stem passing through the middle part of a case closed by a back cover, characterised in that the stem of the push-button can be electrically connected to a data input of the control circuit by pressing on the push-button, so that it is possible, via this stem, to enter data into said control circuit, originating from an electronic unit for transmitting and receiving digital data such as a personal computer or PC or to extract data contained in said portable object.
As a result of these features, an electric link is very simply established between the computer and the portable object. An electric cable, connected to the PC at one of its ends, comes in contact at its other end with the stem of the push-button which is itself directly connected to a data input of the control unit of the portable object. Such a solution is economical from the point of view of electric power consumption and does not require any complex, expensive mechanical or electronic components. In particular, it is not necessary to provide the portable object with an ohmic contact for connecting the cable. Thus full advantage is taken of all the benefits associated with the exchange of data via a cable link while avoiding the problems associated with this technique.
According to a complementary feature of the invention, the push-button also acts on the control circuit to correct an indication or to start or stop a particular horological function, for example time measurement, the push-button stem carrying, for this purpose, a contact spring which acts as a key to prevent said push-button being removed after it has been set in place and as a means for establishing an electric contact with a zone of the printed circuit, this contact spring being electrically insulated with respect to said stem.
As a result of these other features, data can be exchanged between the portable object and the computer using only the means which the portable object carries for adjusting and actuating its usual horological functions. It is thus no longer necessary to add additional parts to the portable object in order to be able to connect the control circuit of the watch to a PC. The construction of the watch is thus simplified, which substantially limits the manufacturing costs. Likewise, the sealing of the portable object is not altered.